Box Score Montgomery, Ala. – Two NAIA Men's Soccer powers in Belhaven University and Lindsey Wilson College converged on Montgomery, Alabama Friday night for an early season battle in the Capital City Classic hosted by Auburn University-Montgomery. Both teams played to a 2-2 double overtime draw that went back and forth throughout the night.

Belhaven, the defending NAIA National Champions, entered the match as the top ranked team in the country while the Blue Raiders owned the number three ranking in the preseason coaches' poll. The two teams last played in the NAIA semifinals where Belhaven claimed a 1-0 win to punch a ticket to national title match.

Lindsey Wilson (0-1-1) struck first late in the opening period when Bastien Montagnon launched a shot past goalie Carl Blundell for a 1-0 Blue Raider lead. Keletso Mosime recorded the only assist for either side on the night to aid the Montagnon goal.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Belhaven (1-0-1) countered to tie the match in the opening stages of the second half. The Blazers took advantage of a foul by Musa Mawanda setting up a free kick opportunity for David Cole in the 55th minute. Cole made the Blue Raiders pay for the miscue when he curved the ball past goalie Yuta Nomura from 25 yards out, knotting the contest at 1-1.

Unfortunately, the Belhaven defense lost track of Montagnon who planted another kick into the back of the net to give the Blue Raiders another one goal edge at 2-1 in the 72nd minute. With their backs against the wall, the Blazers tightened down the defense and gave the offense a chance to tie the game with one shot.

Jose Sergio Presti answered the call for Belhaven in the 85th minute and tied the match two all. Presti found himself with the ball on a first time volley outside the 25 and quickly unloaded a strike that found pay dirt for his first goal of the season. Regulation and two 10 minute overtime periods would expire with neither side scoring another goal. The match therefore went into the books as a 2-2 draw.

"I was really proud of the guys tonight," said Belhaven Head Coach Brian McMahon. "We battled back twice to level the score and the attitude of the team was terrific the whole game. Lindsey Wilson is a team that we respect a lot and this game was a continuation of last season's semifinal with the spirit and emotion of how it was played."

Jermaine Metz led the Blazers in shots with two, but it was Cole and Presti who each cashed in their first goals of the season to pace the offense. Blundell made three saves and played all 110 minutes in goal for the draw.

Montagnon took four shots off the bench and scored the only two Lindsey Wilson goals. The Blue Raiders had the overall edge in shots 19-12 while Nomura made five saves in net to earn the tie.

The weekend road trip doesn't get any easier for the Blazers who tangle with 15th ranked Ashford University Saturday night in Montgomery, Ala. The kickoff is slated for 6:00 PM.